Michigan By The Bottle Tasting Room — Royal Oak

Royal Oak’s branch of Michigan By The Bottle has the least going on outside and, we suspect, plenty going on inside. It sits on Woodward just south of Webster, a few steps from downtown Royal Oak’s walkable middle, and it runs the way all four of these rooms run: a rotating roster of Michigan’s boutique, family-run wineries under one roof, poured by the flight or the glass, with bottles to take home shelved by style rather than by producer. No reservations, first come first served, outside food currently welcome.

We’ve spent an evening at the Auburn Hills room and can vouch for the model — genuinely knowledgeable people behind the bar and zero pretension about Michigan wine being a novelty act. What we can’t tell you yet is how this particular room feels, because we haven’t been in it.

One real difference worth planning around: there is no patio here. Auburn Hills, Lake Orion and Shelby Township all have some form of outdoor seating; Royal Oak is indoors only, which also means the dog stays home. In exchange you get downtown Royal Oak at the door and free parking in the Oak Tree Shops lot round the back.